Fentanyl: A Decade of Death

Last Updated: Thursday January 23, 2025

inewsource logoAuthor: Steve Breen
Additional Contributors: Iran Martinez, Giovanni Moujaes, and Jamie Self

Fentanyl is driving overdose deaths in San Diego and beyond. Steve Breen and his San Diego-based nonprofit newsroom inewsource explore the problem and the human toll through illustrated storytelling.
Illustration by Steve Breen
The image shows a hand emerging from a hole in the ground, which is covered in tiny blue pills. On a black background above, the text reads: A stealthy and efficient killer, fentanyl is increasingly finding its way into illicit drugs and into the United States. The high potency makes it ideal for smugglers–it takes up less space while yielding a huge profit. As a synthetic opioid, fentanyl is purely chemical and cheap to produce, not requiring land or good weather like cocaine or heroin. It’s driving U.S. overdose deaths and doing so indiscriminately, claiming both the addicted and the unsuspecting.Above an image of the San Diego skyline, a line graph shows how fentanyl-related overdose deaths have skyrocketed over the last two decades, far outpacing prescription opioids and heroin, also pictured. A drawing in black, white and light blue depicts a machine into which chemicals used to make fentanyl are added into a funnel. The machine has an open pipe protruding from it, spewing blue pills cascading on top of a tiny person with a U.S. flag. Below that image, a map features black dots for San Diego and Tucson, the areas through which most fentanyl enters the U.S. Below, an image of people clustered together accompanies text, saying “Migrants are not the problem.” Lastly, the image includes two graphs showing how most of the fentanyl is seized at the U.S.-Mexico border between ports of entry. The graphs include columns made up of tiny blue pills.A drawing depicts two men, one standing with a 4.5 pound monkey on his shoulder. The other is lying on his stomach on the ground with a 450 pound gorilla on his back. The text says that fentanyl is 100 times stronger than the prescription painkillers doctors prescribe.Drawing depicts a woman’s face with text to the side that lists fentanyl’s effects on the body, from relaxation to nausea and vomiting.The image has text that says, “This graphic storytelling project was produced by inewsource, a nonprofit investigative newsroom, dedicated to improving lives in the San Diego region and beyond. Click here to experience the full project at I NEWS SOURCE DOT ORG,” found on the web at I-N-E-W-S-O-U-R-C-E-DOT-O-R-G.” A text-only card says, “What to do if you think someone is overdosing: Call 9-1-1, administer narcan if possible, keep person awake and breathing, lay person on their side to prevent choking, stay with them until emergency workers arrive. Call 211 to find Narcan/Naloxone near you.

Source: https://inewsource.org/fentanyl/